Former Open Champion Collin Morikawa's candid take on the Open/British Open debate: "Call it whatever the hell you like"
2021 Open Championship winner Collin Morikawa is currently gearing up for the 2023 edition of the major. The 26-year-old American golfer recently gave his take on the debate around the tournament's name, whether it should be called the Open or the British Open.
The debate seems to resurface every year when the Open Championship approaches, and golf fans have very strong opinions about it.
For American fans, the Open often refers to the US Open, which is why they call this major the British Open. Of course, for Britishers, it is simply the Open.
However, it does not really matter much to Collin Morikawa. Speaking about the debate, he said (via Golf Monthly):
“I think people understand whether you say British Open or The Open. At the end of the day if you win it you can call it whatever the hell you want.”
During his title winning run at the tournament in 2021, Morikawa called it the British Open, and received some flak for it. Last year, he called it the Open and failed to make the cut. Morikawa joked that given the contrast in results, he might stick with calling it the British Open:
“I definitely called it the British Open the year I won and then people gave me hate for it, so then I called it The Open last year, but I played better when I called it the British Open, so I might call it the British Open.”
Collin Morikawa will be hoping to win Open Championship once again
Regardless of the name, Collin Morikawa is focused on putting in a good performance at the Open Championship this year. The event is scheduled to be held from July 20 to July 23 at the Royal Liverpool Club in Hoylake, England.
Morikawa decided to skip the Scottish Open and take some time off ahead of the major. Instead, he attended the Wimbledon Championships and also played some practice rounds at Walton Heath. He said:
“I just haven't played well the past two years, I was like screw it. Why not get some extra prep, come out here early, get ready, get adjusted. So we played some great golf courses. I was able to play Walton Heath where they're having the Women's Open or the British… whatever it's called! So that was a lot of fun.”